By: P.K. Silverson

Chapter One

1. Once upon a time.

That's the way our lore compels me to begin. It's tradition. And, as I've come to understand over the years, tradition is important. Consequently, I must begin my tale in the traditional manner, and that way is to begin with "Once upon a time." So...

Once upon a time, a very long time ago, there was nothing but darkness. This once upon a time took place so much longer ago than anyone can remember that I'm relating to you what I've heard, and not what I've actually witnessed myself. That will come soon enough. But, for now, I am talking about a once upon a time so exceptionally long ago that there was nothing but darkness.

In that once upon a time, darkness was everywhere. It was so extremely dark, in fact, that I'm quite sure I could not have seen my own hand if I'd held it up right in front of my eyes. Now, that's not to say I've ever seen such darkness, because I wasn't there. That was once upon a time, remember, and not now. It was a long, long time ago. Before dreams, before remembering, before the time of the Seelie Court or even before the very beginning itself.

Oh, yes. This once upon a time was very long ago indeed!

Just because it was dark in this distant once upon a time doesn't mean it was empty. Certainly not! There was Great Magic in the darkness. Wonderfully Great Magic! "How wonderful?" you may wonder. I'm so glad you asked. The Great Magic was as wonderful as anything. The Great Magic gathered itself together in the darkness and understood that one such as I could never hope to see his little hand before his eyes. And, the Great Magic knew, such deplorable conditions could never, no! should never be tolerated.

The Great Magic drew on all its wonderful power and conjured up the light! And suddenly everything could be clearly seen, which, then as now, is mostly a very good thing. The world was filled with sparkle and colour and beauty and, of course, best of all, Great Magic.

Now, I could go on and on telling you all about the extraordinary things that happened once the Great Magic filled the world with light, but then we'd never come around to the point. And, although getting you from one place to another is hardly my stock-in-trade, it makes little sense to relate a tale that would take longer in the telling than you have to hear it. So, I will skip through this part quickly, if you don't mind, and then go on.

Suffice it to say there were soon trees and flowers and chirping birds and lovely meadows and sylvan pools. Yes, the Great Magic illuminated a wondrous world with much to recommend it. So much, in fact, that all creatures great and small lived upon the world in peace and harmony, asking for nothing more than a cozy place to sleep and three square meals a day. And things went along in this way for quite a while.

That is, of course, until another once upon a time.
2. Once upon a time, so long ago that I cannot remember exactly when it was, but I assure you it was a very long time ago, the world was a wonderful place filled with vibrant life and dazzling light and brilliant colour and Great Magic.

It was a happy world, a tranquil world, a peaceful world. Alas, it was not to remain that way forever. Great Magic can be a wonderful thing, but it can also go terribly wrong. How else does one explain the presence of mere mortal man in a world of such beauty and wonder? I have often shaken my head when chancing to ponder it. What could the Great Magic have been thinking when it set such a dull, plodding and single-minded race upon this world? Sometimes I simply do not know.

What I do know, however, is that all things work in balance, and that is why the Great Magic placed the Fay in this world as well. Oh, yes, we merry few, we band of hale and hearty Fairies, tried and true, are what keep the dull and plodding race of mere mortal man from bringing this world to ruin. So help me upon my word it is true.

The Great Magic must have known that mere mortal man would come into the world and build upon the meadows and the hillsides, in the dales and gullies. His kind would clear away the beautiful trees and tame the wild grasses into short and clipped remnants of their robust selves.

How sad it is, really, that at the moment of adulthood, mere mortal man and his mere mortal mate are doomed to forget the sense of wonder and magic so intimately known to them when they are children. They are fated to ignore what's beneath their very noses to pursue commerce in a world where life is the greatest of all gifts, and time is the true measure of wealth.

They act as if the Great Magic had never brought light to the darkness at all.

So it's up to us, the Fairy Fay, we proud mischief makers, we bold enchanted few, to keep mere mortal man from taking the world too seriously.

And, to tell you the truth, it's a job we really enjoy.

Not just once upon a time. But now. And forever!
3. I suppose it's only proper for me to introduce myself. You can call me Eddington. That will do quite nicely. Or Ed, for short. That's quite alright as well. Ding will not do, because that would encroach on his royal majesty King Ding of July the Thirteenth, and one must not presume upon royalty. No, Eddington is a safe bet, although it's not my name. As I've said, you can call me that, if you like, but I will not listen to you if you do. Still, I cannot stop you from calling me Eddington, or Ed for short, if that's your desire. I only live to serve. As do all the Fairy Fay.

If you must know my name, however, because you may want to address me properly and save yourself from my mischief, you should know that I am Frisque. At least, that's the name I respond to. My full name is quite a mouthful, as are all Fairy names, because of the King and Queen stuff we all do. Oh yes, it's true. Every little Fairy gets to be either King or Queen. One day a year, every year. Year in. Year out. That is our way. That is our tradition. We adjust to whatever calendar mankind happens to be working with at the moment. Everyday, there's a new Fairy King. Well, almost every day. And everyday, there's a new Fairy Queen. Well, once again, almost every day. Actually, there are three more Fairy Kings than there are Fairy Queens, which gives we gentle little fellows a slight edge, because all year long, our genteel counterparts who aren't serving as Queen treat themselves as, well, Fairy Princesses. It's enough to make one quite ill.

Did I tell you that there's a new Fairy King and Queen in the Seelie Court every day? That's not exactly true. One day a year, there is no Fairy King and Queen. I will explain this to you when the once upon a time is right. Until then, you'll just have to be patient with little Frisque. Or King Frisque of September the Second, if you want to be all prim and respectful, because that is my full name, and that is my proper title.

And if you don't mind your manners, I'll tip your cattle over and send you packing to the north of Spain. Unless you already happen to be in Spain, and then you're really in trouble. So you'd better just take heed.

If I were you, I'd have my dull mortal face all screwed up into a bundle trying to figure out just how many Fairies there are in the Seelie Court. I'll save you the trouble, because you've been so polite and attentive. There are precisely seven hundred and twenty seven fairies in the Seelie Court. Not one more. Not one less. Not counting our assorted pets and livestock. They're Fairies, too, but you do not have to worry yourself about them. We enjoy their company, but they have little to do with the tale I'm about to tell to you.

Now, where was I? Oh, yes. At Seelie Court, we noble Fairies perform three hundred and sixty four coronations every year. In Leap Years, we perform three hundred and sixty five. This means there are three hundred and sixty four coronation balls to attend and just as many clean ups every single year. From once upon a time until the end of time.

Of course, that would not be possible if we didn't have our Little Magic, which, along with our lives and the light, is the greatest gift bestowed to our noble clan by the Great Magic when we were brought into this wondrous world.

Which took place, as you may well remember, once upon a time.
4. If I were you (and I'm so very glad I'm not, for I am me and who else would I be?), I would be wondering why there are precisely three more Fairy Kings than there are Fairy Queens. Let me ask you this: Which Fairy Princess would you choose to be the very first Fairy Queen of the year? My goodness but that precious little Fairy Princess would be so annoying all year long, so puffed up and proud of being first among equals. It's bad enough the way Mabb of May presents herself to the world. Then, consider this: which Fairy Princess would you choose to be the very last in line? And, if you really want to stir up trouble, try to imagine asking one of our little Fairy Princesses to wait four long years to be Queen for just one day while all her friends are being coronated every year. Just think of the sulking and pouting that would go on!

No, better that there is no Fairy Queen to usher in the New Year or ring out the old. Serendipitous is the choice to have only a Fairy King for that quadrannual day!

As to the actual matter of ringing out the Old and ushering in the New, the task falls to the only Fairy twins there are. And they're just dim enough to do the job.

Perhaps now is as good a time as any to tell you a bit about good Bellweather and Apod, for they bear close watching in the matter I am about to relate. Apod is the younger of these two identical twins; tall by Fairy standards and lean and muscular. The Great Magic sent him into this wondrous world at two strokes on the clock after the start of the New Year, so he is the King on that first of daily days, and a very merry soul he is! His older brother, Bellweather, came into this wondrous world exactly four ticks earlier, which means that he made his entrance just before the last strokes of the first Old Year faded away. So he presides over that day, bumbling through his pitiful little coronation as we all look ahead to the glorious start we'll celebrate for his brother.

Loveable old Bellweather. A lesser Fairy would have choked his own brother many times over for the indignities he's suffered. He carries on cheerfully, however, and what he lacks in glamour he more than makes up when he eats. A round and jolly fellow he is.

Bellweather and Apod. December last and January first. Eldest at the End, youngest at the Start. And not a single thought between them. How happy they are.

At least, that's what Robin Goodfellow has told me. And I have learned never to argue with him, even though he is only King but one day every four years.